LGBT Activist Suggests Institution of Marriage 'Should Not Exist'

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An activist of the LGBT community is gaining viral attention for a 2012 YouTube video in which she says the fight for the legalization of gay marriage will change the institution of marriage completely, and that she believes the institution of marriage should cease to exist altogether.

Pundits note that Russian LGBT activist and author Masha Gessen's argument is interesting, as many pro-traditional family advocates argue that the institution of marriage is essential to maintaining order and morality in American society.

Additionally, Gessen's comments seem to contradict the argument of many pro-gay marriage advocates, who suggest that the legalization of same-sex marriage will not affect the institution of traditional marriage.

"I think it's a no-brainer, that gays should have the right to marry, but equally, I think it's a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist," Gessen said at the Sydney Writer's Festival on a panel titled "Why Get Married When You Can Be Happy?" in May 2012.

As The Blaze points out, although Gessen's comments were made last year, the YouTube video featuring her comments is just now beginning to gain traction on the Internet.

"Fighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we're going to do with marriage when we get there," Gessen continued in her panel talk.

"We lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie … The institution of marriage is going to change and it should change," Gessen said.

Gessen then gave the example of her unconventional family structure, which, due to a divorce from her previous husband and the marriage to her new female partner, consists of, in her words, "five parents" for her three children.

"I have three kids who have five parents, more or less, and I don't see why they shouldn't have five parents legally," Gessen told the crowd.

Gessen's controversial comments stand in stark contrast to the argument employed by many pro-traditional marriage groups, who argue that maintaining the traditional family in America is central to the country's successful future.

"As American jurisprudence has long recognized, marriage is the foundation of family and society, without which there would be neither civilization nor progress," the pro-traditional marriage advocacy group ProtectMarriage.com writes on its official website.

"The creation, nurture, and socialization of the next generation is mainly accomplished through the family unit," the organization continues.

"Traditional marriage is intended to provide to every child both a mother and father who are accountable to each other, their children, and the common good. By identifying children with their parents, the social system powerfully motivates individuals to settle into an enduring procreative union and take care of the ensuing offspring."

LGBT activist Gessen is the author of several books, including Blood Matters and The Man Without A Face, and she also writes for publications such as The New York Times and Vanity Fair, among others.